Here’s the reason:

Before resuming my career as a professional artist and graphic designer, I enrolled in the Art Education Master’s program at the College of Saint Rose in Albany, NY. For various reasons, prior to completing the program, I decided to receive a Master’s in Studio Art instead of Education.

While I am extremely happy with my decision to return to the world of web design & photography, I have never lost sight of what drew me to art education in the first place.

I feel that art education is vitally important in our schools and in the cognitive development of children and teenagers. Arts education builds self confidence and self understanding in children and teens by encouraging students to stretch their mental boundaries and invent unique solutions to problems (to which there is often more than one right answer) in a safe, creative environment which encourages “outside the box” thinking and individuality.

Even if a student never intends to have anything to do with art beyond high school, the creative thinking skills practiced in art class are destined to help them no matter which career path they choose.

In this day and age of recessions and budget cuts, I felt a strong need to add my voice to the greater conversation surrounding the importance of Arts Education in our schools. By posting interviews, ideas and viewpoints from educators, students, and working artists, I hope at the very least, to provide a place where teachers and students can go for ideas & inspiration, helping them to feel a little more connected to the bigger picture of arts education in America.

I will be spending the next week or two compiling  & sifting through the articles and interviews I have received and will begin posting in earnest.

If you are an artist or educator who would like to participate, please contact me at taylor@taylorgillis.com or on Twitter @taylorgillis. I will send you more specific content needs. I look forward to hearing from you!

I would like you to meet my friend Joe. He is a nice guy and a really great artist. He has started an art blog called “Drawn by Joe”.

I urge you to take a look. He periodically posts original drawings and art experiments which are really quite wonderful. I find myself checking in often, just to see what he come up with next.

Take a look, and if you like it, let him know what you think!

Drawn by Joe

It is such a vibrant community of talented and creative artists and I feel lucky to be a part of it.

If you are in the area, I highly suggest stopping by and taking a look. There are over 90 vendors and you are sure to find a little bit of everything. If you are interested in “shopping locally” I can’t think of a better place.

Here is the website: www.artiqueshopping.com

I’d like to announce a new venture! I have started a new in-home portrait photography studio with my good friend and talented photographer, Christina Hasel. Our goal is to take portraits of families, children, pets, etc. in your home, where you’re most comfortable.

From our webpage: “Christina Taylor Photography captures the beauty of everyday moments in the comfort of your own home. By creating a casual atmosphere and using natural light, Christina Taylor Photography specializes in portraits of families, children, relationships, pets, and small family gatherings.”

We are both very excited about this new venture, and have already done some pretty amazing shoots together. I will periodically post some images to show what we’ve been up to!

Christina Taylor Photography
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This is perfect. So simple…

Via: Seth’s Blog

We’ve all heard the saying “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” This is true. It’s a deceptively simple statement. Often we (myself certainly included) can get intimidated by the perceived size of a potential project or goal. It can be paralyzing. But often we find that once we get going it isn’t so bad, and before we know it we accomplished something huge that we can look back on and be proud of. I think sometimes that hardest part is starting the project. Perhaps we should say “A journey of a thousand miles begins by having the courage to take the first step.” We need to have faith that the next steps will follow.

As creative people, often we find that solutions are discovered in the midst of creation. We can never know what problems or discoveries will occur along the way. But, taken in small enough chunks, any project becomes manageable.

Next time you make your bed in the morning, try and use it as a reminder for yourself that any accomplishment (no matter how small) on the way to a goal, is important. Any accomplishment is really just the sum of a thousand tiny little victories.

I highly suggest going here to check out some more images from this body of work. In 2D photographic form, there is virtually no way to distinguish the fact that these aren’t traditional paintings. I would love to see them in person and move about the pieces to see the shift from 2D illusion to real 3D space.

Via: Alice’s blog @ My Modern Met

I liked this layout, as it really helps show the work, first and foremost. I also went with a WordPress blog because, well, I really love blogging, and this way I have the most flexibility to make changes, and add/subtract features.

I will soon be adding a print store where my photos will be available for purchase. More on that later.

Whew, first post out of the way!